Warm March winds set record high temperatures across Japan

Record high temperatures were set at 35 observation points across Japan in March, the Meteorological Agency said Monday.

Temperatures in eastern Japan, comprising the Kanto Koshin, Hokuriku and Tokai regions, and western Japan, consisting of the Kinki, Chugoku, Shikoku and Kyushu regions, were the second-highest on record for March, the agency said.

Many regions enjoyed fair weather during the month as high pressure systems and warm air covered the nation after flowing in from the south, the agency added.

The weather was so warm in fact that it prompted the Someiyoshino strain of cherry blossoms to bloom at the earliest time ever in many parts of the country.

Among the places that logged record highs were Lake Kawaguchi in Yamanashi Prefecture, where the average temperature was 7 degrees, or 3.4 degrees higher than normal. In Mishima, Shizuoka Prefecture, the average temperature was 12.6, or 3.1 degrees higher, the agency said.